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A-level - Geography > Topic 1 - Tectonic Processes And Hazards EQ2 > Flashcards

Topic 1 - Tectonic Processes And Hazards EQ2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Explain what a natural hazard is?

A

Natural processes (earthquake/volcano) which has the potential to cause loss of life or injury, property damage and socio-economic disruption - requires people at or near its location to be a hazard

  • can be different in size depending on expected magnitude/intensity
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2
Q

Explain what a disaster is?

A

A serious disruption of the functioning community or society involving widespread human material, economic or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the affected community or society’s ability to cope using its own resources

  • implies 500 or more deaths
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3
Q

Explain what a catastrophe is - what are some of the feature?

A

A disaster which has profound impacts on life and property - over 2000 deaths or over 200,000 made homeless or GDP of a country is reduced by 5% or dependence on aid from abroad for a year or more after the event

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4
Q

Explain what risks are in regard to natural hazards?

A

The probability of a hazard causing harmful consequences (loss of life, injures and damage)

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5
Q

Explain what vulnerability is in regard to natural hazards?

A

Geographical conditions which increases the susceptibility of a community to a hazards or to the impact of a hazard event

  • dependent on the ability to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from a hazard
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6
Q

Explain what resilience is in regard to natural hazards?

A

The ability of a community exposed to hazards to resit, absorb and recover from the effects of a hazard

  • determined by the degree to which the community has necessary resources and is capable of organising itself both prior to and during times of need
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7
Q

Explain the equation in which relates to risk and hazard?

A

Risk = Hazard x vulnerability

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8
Q

Outline and explain some of the dynamic variables which result in a complex relationship between risk, hazards and vulnerability - give 4?

A
  • unpredictably - many hazards are unpredictable, leaving people caught out
  • lack of alternatives - most due to economic aspects - eg people living in an earthquake region due to lack of wealth to move
  • dynamic hazards - threat of hazard can increase or decrease over time - human influence can affect this
  • cost-benefit - benefits of living in hazardous location outweighing the costs
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9
Q

Outline the role of Deggs model?

A

Risk to people can be shown as a venn diagram it shows interaction between hazards, disasters and human vulnerability and how they combine to create a level of risk

  • the more severe the geographic event/ more vulnerable the population are the ore the two overlap and the larger the disaster
  • simplified version of the PAR model
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10
Q

Outline the role of pressure and release model (PAR model)?

A

Pressure model idea risk faced by people seen as a combination of two processes vulnerability and hazard (eg can not be a disaster, if there are hazards but little to no vulnerability)

  • use for 12 mark questions
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11
Q

Explain examples of the root causes regarding the PAR model and how they lead to vunreability?

A

Root causes - such as limited access to power and resources - create vulnerability through different pressures such as inadequacies, local institution systems or capacity and standards in governments

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12
Q

Explain examples of dynamic pressures regarding the PAR model and how they lead to vunreability?

A

Produce unsafe conditions in the physical and social environments pf the people and groups most susceptible to vulnerability and risk

  • macro-forces - include rapid population change, rapid urbanisation and deforestation
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13
Q

Explain examples of unsafe conditions regarding the PAR model and how they lead to vunreability?

A

Physical unsafe conditons - Include dangerous locations and buildings with low resilience to hazards - socially unsafe conditons include risks to local economies

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14
Q

Explain some of the ways social and economic impacts vary considerably?

A
  • over time
  • from place to place
  • from minor nuisances to major disasters
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15
Q

Outline the economics impacts to land areas?

A
  • level of development and GDP per capita
  • total number of people affected
  • speed of recovery
  • degree of urbanisation
  • amount of uninsured losses
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16
Q

Explain why earthquakes and their secondary hazards tend to be worse than volcanos, give 3 points?

A
  • earthquakes can happen more randomly and are harder to predict - means we often have little time to react
  • concentration of active volcanoes in relatively narrow belts means that only a small land area lies in close proximity
  • estimated that less than 1% of worlds population is likely to suffer the impacts of a volcanic eruption compared to 5% for earthquakes
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17
Q

Outline hazard information regarding the 2011 earthquake of Japan?

A
  • 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck under Pacific Ocean - 100 km of Japanese coast
  • seawater displacement from earthquake causes tsunami which spread in all directions at 10m high, surfed 10km in land

highly developed country - GDP 40,000

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18
Q

Outline and explain the impacts of the 2011 earthquake of Japan?

A
  • Fukushima nuclear power plant severely damaged - released dangerous levels of radiation (47,000 evacuated - 20km exclusion zone)
  • 6000 injuries, 20,000 dead
  • 130,000 homeless
  • 240 billion damage
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19
Q

Outline and explain the preparation for the 2011 earthquake of Japan?

A
  • good building construction with strict regulations (75% constructed with this in mind) that were adhered and enforced to due to low corruption levels
  • well developed plans - areas vulnerable to tsunami had 10m high walls and evacuation shelters and routes (houses/offices had emergency kits)
  • early warning system - 1 min advanced warning + frequent education and preparedness for emergency drills
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20
Q

Outline and explain the response for the 2011 earthquake of Japan?

A
  • immediate response - 100,000 troops mobilised + news of earthquake on all radio and TV stations (provided instructions)
  • bank of Japan offered 183 bn dollar to keep banks operating - protecting economy
  • japan accepted hep from foreign rescue and recovery teams (Haiti teams were delayed due to damage infrastructure and lack of coordination - china, wasn’t used to accepting help from other countries meant lack of procedures so it took days for rescue to arrive)
21
Q

Explain how the 2011 earthquake of Japan impacted global energy prices?

A
  • before earthquake 27% of electricity generated by nuclear power - government closed all 44 nuclear power stations - amount of electricity generated by nuclear power dropped to 1%
  • japan had to start importing fossil fuels - caused the price of electricity to increase by 20% and the governments debt level to rise as it brought more fossil fuels - rising global prices
  • events at Fukushima led to Germany shutting down all nuclear plants
22
Q

Outline and explain Japans energy policy regarding the 2011 earthquake?

A
  • before earthquake 27% of electricity came from nuclear power - after only 1% (close of 44 plants)
  • led to 20% increase in prices and greater government debt which slowed the economy and created reliance on foreign fossil fuels
  • government reintroduces nuclear energy - by 2030 aiming to generate 20% by nuclear power
23
Q

Outline hazard information regarding the 2008 earthquake of china?

A
  • 2008 earthquake with magnitude of 7.9 struck mountainous region in south-west china (affected over 45 million people)
  • 88,000 dead and 375,000 injured
  • 5mil homeless
  • 125 bn economic cost
  • GDP 6600
    emerging economy
24
Q

Explain why the effects of the earthquake was worse in china and Haiti compared to japan?

A

Both countries had corrupt government officials who often ignored building codes and accepted bribes allowing builders to shortcut - resulting in poor construction

  • example in china thousands of schools were destroyed - killing lots of children
25
Q

Outline and explain the response to chinas 2008 earthquake?

A
  • china had money available to pay for rescue and aid efforts - 130,000 soldiers and relief workers sent to affected areas, reaching people in affected isolated mountainous areas (people in danger of landslides relocated)
  • medical services quickly restored - helping prevent outbreak of diseases
  • temporary homes, roads and bridges built within 2 weeks
  • chinas strong central government able to respond quickly - pledged 10bn for rebuilding works and wrote of debt for those who did not have insurance
26
Q

Explain the corruption of local government at a root-cause level focusing on the 2008 china earthquake?

A

Corruption of local government officials and law enforcement means unsafe building practise still continue - for example after earthquake government moved 40,000 people to newly built city where cracks appeared in the brand new homes almost immediately (led to arrests of local officials for taking bribes)

27
Q

Explain how the 2008 china earthquake has positively impacted the area - give 4 points?

A
  • provided an opportunity to rebuild the area from scratch improving life’s and economy
  • 97% of planned 30,000 construction projects in the region started
  • 99% of all 196,000 farmhouses destroyed were rebuilt
  • 216 transport projects underway (roads,airports,railways)
28
Q

Outline hazard information regarding the 2010 earthquake of Haiti?

A
  • earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck near the capital with a shallow focus (13km)
  • epicentre was only 24km from country’s densely populated capital (port-au-prince) with 2 mil population
  • 320,000 dead and 300,000 injured
  • 14 bn economic cost
  • GDP 1300

developing economy

29
Q

Explain the physical factors which made the 2010 Haiti earthquake so destructive - give 3?

A
  • shallow focus - 13km led to increased amounts of ground shaking
  • liquefaction on looser soil caused building foundations to sink
  • epicentre was only 24km from port-au-prince - with dense pop of 2 million
30
Q

Explain the political, social and economic factors which made the 2010 Haiti earthquake so destructive - give 3?

A
  • Haiti is a developing country - poor with limited resources
  • high level of corruption at national and local government level led to lack of resources and commitment to improve the country’s infrastructure and living standards (lack of building regulations meant many collapsed - made rescue efforts hard and killed many)
  • lack of disaster preparation meant that government officials, police and emergency services didn’t know what to do - led to increased death + many Haitians were living in poverty did not have education or resources to prepare or cope
31
Q

Explain the impacts of 2010 Haiti earthquake - give 3?

A
  • Haiti only had 1 airport, several ports and a few main roads which when damaged severely impacted crucial aid supples prevented help from reaching injured - led to more deaths
  • 1/4 of government officials were killed and key government buildings destroyed - making government response difficult
  • outbreak of cholera + lack of medial supplies and tearing meant 9000 died and 700,000 were affected
32
Q

Outline and explain the recovery from the 2010 Haiti earthquake - give 3?

A
  • internationally 13bn aid donated (however majority did not end up going to Haitian government - due to the government being so damaged and fears of corruption) most aid was in form of foreign projects
  • 80,000 Haitians still living in temporary housing or camps - cholera still a problem
  • new buildings, roads and schools built - seen an increase in health statistics + government is getting stronger and more able to cope with threats
33
Q

Outline and explain 2 earthquake measurements?

A
  • Mercalli scale - measures the experienced impacts of an earthquake - relative scale as it involves numerous peoples experience which may change with location (uses roman numerals for scale)
  • moment magnitude scale (MMS) - modern measure which describes an earthquake in terms of energy released - looks at amount of slip on fault ext (uses number from 0-9)

none of these measures are perfect - eg do not take into account the duration of the hazard or vulnerability and resilience of affected communities

34
Q

Outline and explain a volcanic measurements?

A

Volcanic explosivity index (VEI) - relative measure of the explosiveness of a volcanic eruption - calculated from volume of products ..ext (uses numbers from 0-8)

35
Q

Explain what hazard profiles are?

A

Diagram that shows main characteristics of different types of tectonic hazard (can be developed for a single hazard or multiple hazards - which allows comparisons to be made)

  • help government and organisations to develop disaster plans
  • not only facto that determines social and economic impacts of an event - generally assumed impacts of tectonic hazards are likely to be greater in developing countries where their are higher levels of vulnerability and lower resilience
36
Q

Explain what the hazard profile bi-polar scale is?

A

Technique to understand and compare the physical characteristics of different types of hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis ext) or the same hazard (constructive or destructive boundary) to identify and rank hazards

  • important as it enables resources and response action to be focused appropriately
  • paired with profiling vulnerabilities (PAR mode) to create a greater understanding of the overall tectonic risk
37
Q

Explain how the PAR model and hazard bi-polar scale are used together to calculate tectonic risk?

A

Profiling vulnerabilities (using PAR model) and the hazard (using the hazard bi-polar scale) we now have a greater understanding of the overall tectonic risk

  • vulnerability x hazard = risk
38
Q

Outline and break down the parts of economic development?

A
  • access to education - people can be made more aware of the hazard risks and what to do in the event
  • access to healthcare - the better the health, the better people are able to withstand the health and food risks resulting from a hazard
  • housing - poorly built buildings unable to withstand shockwaves leads to serious injuries and death
  • governance - the collective management and decision making that impacts the countries ability to recover
39
Q

Explain how governance can vary and its affect on recovery from hazards?

A

good governance - embodies the recognition and practise of a range of principles - such as transparency, rule of law, equity and participation

poor governance - form of corrupt local and national government and weak political organisation increases hazard vulnerability in 2 ways

40
Q

Outline and explain 2 ways poor governance impacts a counties ability to recover?

A
  • by failing to invest properly in infrastructure that might mitigate the impacts of tectonic hazard (eg failing to invest in warning systems)
  • by being ill-prepared to deal with the emergency situation immediately following a hazard
41
Q

Outline 3 geographical factors that can increase hazard vulnerability?

A
  • population density - higher density = more people at risk
  • urbanisation - more people and business’s greater economic and social impacts
  • isolation and inaccessibility - particularly critical in the immediate aftermath of a hazard event when there is an urgent need to provide emergency aid (Nepal for example)
42
Q

Outline the Swiss cheese model of disaster causation?

A
  • widely used in risk management and analysis
  • idea of a layered security or duplicate back up systems - in the model the layers of cheese represent these safety systems and the holes are the weakness

devleoper argued that an accident occurs when all the holes line up in a single trajectory

  • disaster is thought to occur as a result of series of coincidental events and processes - highlights the fact that disaster can be inked to a single hazard event
43
Q

outline the physical factors for the 2015 Nepal earthquake?

A
  • magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck - caused massive destruction
  • multiple hazard zone, steep mountain landscape - exposed to landslides, debris and floods
    developing
44
Q

outline the human factors for the 2015 Nepal earthquake?

A
  • developing country with 26.5 million people
  • 9000 people lost their lives - 22,000 people were injured
  • valley has high pop density 2.5 million people in 13,000 km^2
  • 85% of the country’s population is rural
  • vulnerable population - poor and socially excluded groups - houses built without following procedures (10 bn damage)
45
Q

outline the physical factors for the 2010/11 NZ Christchurch earthquake?

A
  • magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 10 km west of Christ church
  • resulted in liquefaction damaging infrastructure
    developed
46
Q

outline the human factors for the 2010/11 NZ Christchurch earthquake?

A
  • 100k houses damaged and 10k demolished
  • 185 dead and 30,000 injured
  • 28 bn damage
  • schools closed 2 weeks
47
Q

Explain some of the factors that helped reduced the impact of the 2010/11 NZ Christchurch earthquake?

A
  • economy rebounded and remained resilient - regions manufacturing hub escaped significant damage, agriculture largely unaffected
  • rebuild cost (15 billion) was largely insured losses
  • financial markets unaffected - allowed economy to function
48
Q

outline the physical factors for the 2003 Iran earthquake?

A
  • magnitude 6.6 earthquake, shallow focus - 7km
  • high intense shaking, seismic waves under city (max damage)
  • cold winter temps - people trapped died due to hypothermia
    emerging
49
Q

outline the human factors for the 2003 Iran earthquake?

A
  • 26,000 killed
  • 3 main hospitals destroyed
  • 20% of health professionals killed
  • building practises resulted in more damage and houses collapsing - adobe houses built out of materials from earth with heavy roofs
  • lots of wooden structures already weakened by termite activity

A-level - Geography (21 decks)

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